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TV Time: Once Upon a Time 6.06

Two-Sentence Summary After Henry discovers that Killian kept the shears that could cut Emma’s ties to being the Savior, the two of them are forced to work out their issues 20,000 leagues under the sea while being held captive by Killian’s half-brother. Meanwhile, Belle faces her first ultrasound appointment, and Emma and Aladdin bond over being reluctant Saviors.

Favorite LinesKillian: What made you come back?Henry: You said you couldn’t ruin one more family…Neither could I.

My Thoughts One of my favorite things about Once Upon a Time is that it is uniquely focused on women and their relationships with one another. However, that doesn’t mean that its male characters are left without proper development and compelling relationships in their own right. “Dark Waters” was an episode that centered on the complex family dynamics between some of the male characters on this show, and, its tight focus on one compelling relationship in particular (the often-underdeveloped one between Killian and Henry) made it one of the best episodes of this sixth season.

First of all, say what you want about the Evil Queen (and all I’ll say for now is that her Southern accent in this episode was the weirdest acting choice I’ve ever seen Lana Parrilla make), but she gets things done. I appreciate a woman who doesn’t let secrets stay secrets for long, and if having her around means no unnecessary angst lasts longer than an episode, then I guess I can handle her meddling in the lives of our heroes for a little while longer.

The Evil Queen will never be successful, though, because she consistently underestimates her opponents. If you’ll permit me a Harry Potter reference, it’s like Voldemort’s weakness being his inability to understand love. The Evil Queen thinks that everyone will react to things the way she would—with grudges that last a lifetime. But that’s not how heroes operate. As Rumplestiltskin said, forgiveness is a virtue, but it’s one the Evil Queen does not understand, which foiled her plans to drive the Charming Family apart.

Forgiveness played an important role in “Dark Waters,” and it’s always been an important theme on Once Upon a Time because it’s connected to the core of the show: hope. Showing someone forgiveness means showing them hope that you can move beyond your pain. And that’s what made Henry’s inability to forgive Killian at the start of the episode so sad—we were seeing the show’s most hopeful character lose hope in Killian.

It was about time Henry and Killian’s relationship was explored with some real depth, and that’s exactly what we got in “Dark Waters.” I loved that it started with typical teenage angst—Henry getting annoyed that Killian threw out his Pop Tarts (Teenage Katie would have been mad, too.) and wanted him to take out the trash—and escalated into something deeper. I understood why Henry was so upset with Killian at first, because I was upset with him at the end of the last episode, too. Killian betrayed Emma’s trust by lying to her about the shears, but, because Henry is a teenage boy, he took it about 1,000 steps further and acted like Killian was going to use them whenever he felt like it, which no one who knows Killian at all would ever believe.

For a lot of this episode, Jared Gilmore had to do something he usually isn’t asked to do, and that was make Henry petulant and sullen. But he did such a good job of grounding Henry’s melodramatic mood swings in a very real concept: a teenage boy’s wariness toward the man who will one day be his stepfather. Henry is protective of Emma, and that’s why it broke my heart when he sincerely told Killian that Emma being the Savior is what brought him and his mom together. So much of their relationship is wrapped up in Henry getting her to believe in that part of herself, and I felt his fear that taking away that part of her would take away that special thing they share. Being the Savior isn’t what makes Emma special or what makes Henry love her, but I understood why the idea of Killian taking that away from Emma bothered Henry. Killian keeping the shears also represented a failure of belief that Emma could write a new destiny for herself with the help of her loved ones , and we know how important belief is to Henry.

Therefore, while it was hard to see Henry shut Killian out, I understood it. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to hear him tell Killian he wasn’t part of their family. Henry was right when he told Regina that Killian isn’t his father, and we’ve never been shown that Killian has any intention of taking Neal’s place in that regard. But this episode also showed that family is about more than blood; it’s about who is there for you, who believes in you, and who puts you above themselves. You don’t have to be connected by blood to be family; you simply need to choose to love each other like family. And it is clear that Killian has chosen to love Henry as his family, filling the hole in his life that has been empty for centuries.

Captain Nemo was right in the flashbacks when he said that Killian wanted to be part of a family more than anything. He wanted that with his older brother before he died. He wanted that with Milah before she died. And he wanted that with Bae before the boy found out who he really was. Killian’s destiny has seemed to always be to lose the family he wanted to build, but this is a season about pushing back against your destiny. So, of course, Killian wasn’t going to lose those he loves this time around.

In order to make things right with Henry, though, Killian needed to be honest with him. Killian has always owned up to his darkness in his past, but there was still one secret left to tell: He left his half-brother an orphan when he killed his father. Colin O’Donoghue was excellent throughout this episode, but some of his best work was in his guilt-stricken delivery of that confession to Henry. And by opening up to Henry about who he was at his worst, he earned his trust back. Sharing this secret didn’t make Henry push him away; it brought them closer. That seems to be another recurring theme this season: Honesty may be hard, but it’s worth it.

Once Killian starting talking about his half-brother, it dawned on me that the mysterious first mate who had sought revenge on the person who left him an orphan in the flashbacks was none other than Liam himself. I really enjoyed that twist, even I’m still trying to piece together how that would work given the timeline. I couldn’t believe they brought that story up again, and it was such a pleasant surprise to see it given the development it deserved. This was one of the last great sins of Killian’s past he had to atone for, and it was good to see him have to face the damage he caused and emerge a stronger and better man for having dealt with that part of his past instead of running from it like he tried to in the flashbacks.

I found myself incredibly impressed with Captain Nemo in the flashbacks. It seemed Nemo’s words were what Killian took to heart at the end of Season Two when he first started questioning whether his quest for revenge was worth it. Nemo was an example of a man who learned the hard way that vengeance doesn’t fill the hole in your heart left by loss. The only thing that can fill it is love. In Nemo’s case, he filled his heart by helping others find peace and a sense of family instead of revenge for their losses, and that is one of the noblest goals any hero has tried to achieve on this show. Nemo even put himself in danger to keep Liam from killing his brother, and his heroic actions were why I was so happy to learn that he was the mysterious patient in the hospital. His was a happy ending I was thrilled to see play out, a great example of a character introduced in one episode who I instantly came to care about far more than I expected.

In the end, Nemo was right: Family means more than vengeance. That was the reason why Killian put aside his quest to destroy the Dark One; he’d found a family he wanted to be a part of, a family whose love filled the empty places in his heart. And Henry is a big part of that family. In his darkest days, Killian destroyed a family by killing his father, but now he was willing to sacrifice his own life to protect the family he loves. When he revealed that he knew there was only one diving suit and helmet, I was reminded of all the times Killian has put Henry above himself—from going to Never Land to save him all the way through this moment. Henry deserves a stepfather who is brave enough to put Henry and his relationship with Emma above even his own life. And Killian is that man.

That sacrifice—that selflessness—was all the confirmation Henry needed to know how much Killian loves both him and his mother. So he came back for him—because that’s what their family does. Killian didn’t want to destroy another family, and neither did Henry. That confirmation that Henry considers Killian part of his family was such a powerful moment (and such a realistic one with the “Don’t push it.”), punctuated by the most heartwarming smile imaginable from Gilmore. The boy who always felt destined to lose father figures fought to change that destiny this time, and the man who felt destined to lose every chance at building a family finally had a family willing to fight for him to be part of it.

I loved seeing Killian and Henry reach a place of understanding as far as the shears were concerned. For as much as Killian wanted to keep Emma safe, he also wanted to respect Henry’s wishes. So Emma’s two True Loves decided to band together to find another way to ensure her safety without disrespecting her wishes. I’m so excited to see them work together to help Emma, continuing to protect the family they love so much, especially now that the Evil Queen gave the shears to Rumplestiltskin.

Before Killian and Henry could formulate a plan, though, they had to be honest with Emma about what happened. I was so happy I could have cried (and I almost did) when Killian volunteered to tell Emma the truth. So many parts of this episode were moments I’d wanted to see for a while, but this was the one I needed to see most to feel better about what happened in last week’s episode. And the actors and the writers handled it beautifully.

In order to understand Emma’s reaction, we needed that lovely scene between her and Aladdin when she confessed to all the times she tried to run away from being the Savior, including her fear that she would use the shears on herself if she kept them around. There is still a part of Emma that doesn’t want to bear the burden of being the Savior anymore, especially if it means knowing her family will have to watch her die. (The fact that she is more upset by her family having to watch than her actually dying speaks so much to who she is.) So when Killian told Emma he kept the shears at first but then did what she asked with them, the flicker of disappointment in Emma’s eyes made so much sense. There was a part of her that secretly wished he would have kept them, and the way Jennifer Morrison showed that in just her face as he hugged her was incredibly affecting.

Although my heart broke for Emma, I was thrilled to see her and Killian actually talking about the secret he kept and why he did what he did. It allowed them to have the kind of honest, adult conversation the best relationships are built on. If you needed an example of why Emma and Killian have one of the strongest relationships on this show, look no further than this scene.

Killian’s conscience was perhaps as clear as it’s ever been in that moment, especially after the scene that came before it. I loved seeing him watch overLiam as he slept in the hospital, finally acting like a protective older brother. But nothing in that scene moved me as much as Liam’s admission that he didn’t hurt Killian after seeing Henry because he didn’t want to continue the cycle of leaving a boy without his father figure. The growth Liam showed in that moment was stunning. Some of the most powerful stories on this show have been about breaking cycles of abandonment, vengeance, and loss, and Liam chose to carve out a new path for himself the moment he saw that Killian had a boy in his life who would have been broken by his death the same way he was broken by his father’s death.

In response to that beautiful confession, Killian revealed that Liam hadn’t lost his whole family as he’d feared when he stabbed Nemo; his captain was alive and was in the hospital bed next to him. The sight of Nemo and Liam holding hands, connecting with each other as a chosen family after everything they’d been through—deeply moved me. It was a lovely visual, inspiring the kind of hope that the best Once Upon a Time episodes instill in me as a viewer.

Speaking of hope and families, I love the direction Belle’s storyline is heading in right now. While it was sad to see her go to her first ultrasound appointment by herself (Why couldn’t Snow have volunteered to go with her?), I really appreciate that the writers are having her stick to her guns right now as far as a reunion with Rumplestiltskin is concerned. It really does feel like she’s done letting herself be mistreated by him, but I did like that she still wants him to have a relationship with his son. Belle has hope that the dream she had doesn’t have to be their fate; she can choose to create an environment where there is hope for her son to love his father and for Rumplestiltskin to know and love his son. And she took the first step toward realizing that hope by sharing the sonogram pictures with Rumplestiltskin.

However, it seems that Rumplestiltskin has other plans for having a relationship with his son. Instead of putting in the hard work or giving up his power, he wants to use the shears to separate Belle and their son from what he thinks is their destiny based on the dream he was part of during Belle’s time under the sleeping curse. Once again, Rumplestiltskin’s lack of hope has led him to turn to a magical solution to a problem he could solve by just trying to be a better person. I am angry with myself because I actually thought he wanted to use the shears to separate himself from the Dark One, but I should have known better.

Despite Rumplestiltskin’s plan, “Dark Waters” reminded us that the only thing that can change your destiny is you. It also reminded us that families are built on openness and trust. And once you have found a family, it’s worth everything you were afraid to do before finding them—from putting aside vengeance to being honest to risking your own life to protect those you love.

Extra Thoughts
• I’m actively trying to forget that the horrifically awkward seduction of Rumplestiltskin by the Evil Queen ever happened. However, the one good thing to come out of this awful plot is that it seems to be the one thing this very divided fandom can agree on: We all think it needs to stop ASAP.
• I loved seeing Regina, Snow, and Charming team up to free Archie. They make a pretty formidable threesome.
• Snow looking at the flowers in the hospital was a sweet little nod to the flowers she used to bring to David when they were cursed and he was in his coma.
• This week in “Killian Doesn’t Understand the Modern World”: I’m not sure which I thought was cuter—his confusion over video game controllers or his attempts to pronounce Wookie (which had to be stretch for O’Donoghue, given his love for all things nerdy).
• What happened to Agrabah? Anyone have any theories?
• I enjoyed the little bit of domesticity we got in the scene with Killian, Henry, and Emma in their kitchen. More of this, please!

18 thoughts on “TV Time: Once Upon a Time 6.06”

Great review, Katie. I feel like I don’t have much to say because I agree with your review 100%. I know many people on social media were angry about the way Henry treated Killian in this episode. While of course it was heartbreaking to hear him tell Killian he doesn’t see him as part of their family, it seemed clear that it was pretty typical teenage behavior. I’m glad I’m not alone in understanding Henry’s perspective and why he lashed out. I felt very alone in that last night. Thank you for being always being so insightful. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the Liam 2.0 storyline resurface. Now that Killian has family in town I’m hoping that we will see more of Killian interacting with his younger brother. Another fantastic episode.

This episode hit one of my favorite themes: how we create our families. One of the things that I love about OUAT is that family is about more than biology or blood – it’s about the people you choose to care about, the people you choose to make your family. So THIS passage . . . I LOVED THIS PASSAGE:

“But this episode also showed that family is about more than blood; it’s about who is there for you, who believes in you, and who puts you above themselves. You don’t have to be connected by blood to be family; you simply need to choose to love each other like family.”

This episode also included something I have wanted for a very long time: Jules Verne. (Since they introduced Frankenstein, I’ve been hoping for Jules Verne. Thank you, writers.) I loved their use of Nemo for exploring how one creates a family and the hollowness of revenge. I loved how Nemo was faithful to the source material. Bringing in Liam II was nice touch as well.

The EQ – on her own, divorced from Regina — really doesn’t do long cons like Rumple does. He would have let this play out and simmer more. She just goes in for the kill. I did like that while Henry does seem to realize he can’t trust her, he can’t quite help but let her words get under his skin. After all Killian has done and sacrificed for Emma and everyone else, you’d think Henry would realize Killian wouldn’t hurt them. The fear that Killian’s actions would jeopardize Henry’s relationship with Emma – oh, that made perfect sense. (As has been pointed out – Henry is a teenager. For the most part, he’s a sensible one, but still . . . teenager.) I loved the fact that this episode gave them a chance to work through this away from everyone else – no moms, gramps, or anyone to interrupt and try to “help.” I love, too, that Killian treats Henry like an intelligent person – he’s willing to give Henry an explanation. He doesn’t dismiss Henry with “you’re too young” or “you wouldn’t understand” or even “this is between your mother and me.” He gets that Henry deserves an explanation – a real explanation, even if it’s difficult and painful for Killian to share.

Love as sacrifice. Oh, you know I’m on board for that. Killian was willing to sacrifice his life to get Henry back to Emma. Henry sacrificed his chance at escape to come back for Killian. ALL THE FEELZ!

And yes, I have to comment on the Henry moments – that smile and the “don’t push it” were spectacular. Henry gives Killian the option of explaining? Wonderful. “I’ll see you at home.” Brilliant. Just Brilliant.

I’m glad I’m not the only one squicked by the EQ-Rumple seduction/whatever – are we supposed to be squicked? I’m also equally mystified by the whole bad Scarlet O’Hara voice. Seriously? The EQ just seemed all over the place to me. I’m wondering if this is a deliberate choice . . . is she supposed to be losing her focus and starting to come apart? Is it supposed to feel odd?

The inevitable random thoughts:
— Definitely put Charming in charge of breakfast. Perhaps he could teach Killian the secret of the pancakes.

— Since we didn’t get Smee in this episode, I am glad that his absence in the flashback was acknowledged. I like to think that he has taken over selling frozen yogurt in Storybrooke.

— The brothers Jones are both sailors. Love it. (Your little brother has a submarine?)

— Yes, Belle, we all wonder if Rumple can come back from this. (But kudos for not wanting to fill your son with hate.)

— No, I am not getting distracted by the charm of Aladdin and his chemistry with Jasmine. Not at . . what? Huh? Did you say something?

— Ok, now that we have the Emma-Killian secrets out, can we get mischievous Killian back?

Lovely review as always Katie!! I am so glad we got a happy ending episode. I am all about the episodes with happy endings. The episodes with a clear setup, climax, and resolution tend to be my favorites. I was definitely annoyed by the shears thing last week, but I think they succeeded in making that plot device worth it. Most of us assumed that it was going to be played to create conflict between Emma and Killian, which I personally am tired of. But instead they used it as a source of conflict between Killian and Henry, and that I thought was interesting and appropriate.

I really liked Henry in this episode. Sure he was being moody and a tad unfair, but I thought it was completely understandable. It would be weirder to me if all of a sudden Henry was just completely ok with this new man living in their house. Being ok with your mom dating someone, is completely different from having him move in with you and throwing your pop-tarts away. Actually, the last thing I want is for Henry to all of a sudden go around calling Killian “Dad” all of a sudden. It’s just not necessary (although Henry seems to love calling everyone grandma and grandpa so maybe he will). This was about Henry accepting that Killian is going to be a larger part of his life, and to trust that he has the family’s best interest at heart. I didnt start calling my step-dad “Dad” until my much younger sister was born and it just kinda naturally happened when everyone was referring to him as Dad in relation to her, so I just went with it. It really wasn’t a big deal. There was no ceremony. There was no big heart to heart discussion about it. I kinda wonder if I ever would have called him Dad had my sister not been born, but I don’t think it would have had any impact on our relationship if I hadn’t.

As surprised and delighted as I was for them to circle back on the Liam 2 plot thread, I was really bummed we didn’t get a mention of Neal. When I first read the press release and saw this was going to be about Killian/Henry, not knowing Liam 2 was going to be apart of the story, I thought for sure Killian would bring up something about his time with Baelfire. But, they had more than enough material with using Liam 2, so I can see why they didn’t go that route, but seeing has how Killian’s decision to stay in Storybrooke to be a part of something had pretty much everything to do with honoring Henry’s dad (one of my all-time favorite moments on the show BTW), it would be nice to see that brought up again sometime. The only time we have really seen Henry and Killian talk about Neal is when Henry didn’t have his memories back in 3B, and I would love to see another conversation sometime in the future. I do love what you said about this being a season about pushing back against your destiny, and Killian being determined to fight for his family this time around. It really shows how far he has come. Past Killian would have taken Henry’s anger and used it as an excuse to shut him out and be alone. Current Killian doesn’t get defensive and lash out, he tells the truth and admits his mistake, and they are able to move forward.

After last week I was really kinda hoping that Killian and Emma would get in a bit of a row over the whole shears thing, but they did a great job here making the conclusion feel right for the story they chose to tell. The fact that they showed Emma clearly struggling with her decision, and her confession that a part of her did want to use them (which I loved in an absolutely heartbreaking way), definitely changed the situation. I thought her resolute decision last week without discussing things with Killian felt wrong, but knowing that she didn’t want to be tempted to keep them makes a whole lot more sense now. And I agree, it did seem like she was going to tell Killian she was glad he still had them before he confessed to getting rid of them. If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was the fact that Killian kept implying that he would have used the shears on Emma himself. That seems really against his nature after how much emphasis he put last season on not using the dagger. I would say it’s a moot point now but since the shears are still in SB perhaps not.

Randomness:
– This season is weird in that the previews for the next week always seem to vague I have no idea what I am suppose to get out of them.
– So old mad-eye queeny can apparently see everything that’s happening? Are they going to explain that one?
– I would gladly eat Killian’s grapefruit and boiled mackerel breakfast if it means I don’t have to see the Evil Queen and Rumple do whatever it is they are doing ever again.
– The EQ’s annoyed “these people are way too forgiving” made me lol.
– On one hand, I really love the story they are giving Belle this season, but on the other hand her scenes in this episode felt a bit out of place.
– I think its time Henry invest in a Wii, or something that is a bit more hook friendly.
– Cheek kisses. I love the cheek kisses.
– Are they actually allowed to say pop-tart on TV?
– I will never get tired of Emma’s bad puns, or how proud she is of herself every time she makes them, or Killian’s amused little grins even though he probably doesn’t get them. Bonus points for Henry’s “oh god what is my life now?” looks.
– For the love of everything Henry will you just sit down and watch ‘Star Wars’ with Killian and put him out of his misery? To be fair, calling it the “walking prisoner gag” DOES make sense.
– Henry looked so old and grown up in that diving suit. When he gives Killian that little smile after the “don’t push it” comment, all I could think was, “no baby Henry stop growing up so fast!”
– I cant decide if I agree with their timeline logic or not, but I am not going to waste time thinking too hard about it. Is there a consensus on when time actually restarted in the Enchanted Forest bubble? I was under the impression it restarted at the end of the Pilot, when the clock started ticking in SB, so there would have been some unfrozen time in the EF before the dark curse was broken, so I guess this would fall in that time. Im not even going to attempt to rationalize Liam 2’s age. Its not really important and they could make up some magical excuse if they wanted to.
– So these people with mortal wounds that go to the land of untold stories, are they able to live normally during that time, or are they just in a constant state of “almost dead”, cause that does not sound fun. I would hope its more like David in Neverland, you are cured as long as you don’t leave, but from what we have seen so far with the handmaiden and Nemo, they made it seem like they weren’t really doing anything in the land of untold stories…
– You know that saying about looking good wearing a trash bag? That’s Colin. He is wearing a trash bag of a diving suit and he still looks good. An ORANGE trash bag at that. Sigh.
– Sure Killian, nothing says “I’ve been working out in the yard” like a leather jacket. At least take off the jacket and roll up your sleeves. Seriously, please, roll up the sleeves. I want to see that.

Like you, I thought they did a good job of handling Henry’s issues with Killian. I think it’s telling that what seemed to send him over the edge was the EQ’s implication that Killian would somehow try to take Neal’s place coupled with the idea that Killian could remove the thing that brought Henry and Emma together. And now that you’ve brought it up, sign me up for Killian-talks-with-Henry-about-Neal petition.

I will also be on the roll-up-the-shirt-sleeves petition.

I’m glad to see I’m not alone in wanting Star Wars movie night. (Look, ABC, we know you have the rights. You can just play the opening music while they watch the screen . . .) Put me on that list . . .

As the mother of an 11 year old (eek! tween!) I felt the teen angst so clearly and was cringing so badly during the scenes with Henry early on, but I didn’t actually put a lot of..worry into them. I see the strong feelings up close and personal here at home and I personally felt and thought things one moment as a teenager that I couldn’t fathom the next- and I still remember and cringe about that many many (we’re not going into how many, ok?) years later now. Henry is adjusting to new roles in his family and that is not always easy to navigate- and as much as he may like Hook in theory, someone disrupting your breakfast isn’t always going to be the time to have the best opinion of them. (I believe I may have uttered to myself, “It’s okay Henry, I’m not a morning person, either”…but that’s just me lol). I love that they resolved it all on screen though- no off screen conversations for us to imagine what happened to make things okay again, we got to see what went into making this relationship work again, and that was fantastic.

I was completely blindsided to see Liam resurface…such a pleasant surprise to see loose ends tied up when you fully expected them to stay unresolved and well…loose. Captain Nemo was wonderfully charismatic as well.

I am so glad that I am not alone in thinking the Southern belle accent was a bizarre choice…just…what? The whole seduction plot line has been major squick for me, but that at least was weird enough that I was distracted momentarily…

Did anyone else also notice that, in this episode, Emma’s outfit was very similar to the ones she used to wear before she met Chloe and/or when she was on the run with Neal? I wonder what’s the significance behind it: maybe she’s allowing herself to leave her emotional armor at home every once in a while or maybe this time she didn’t want to wear her Savior armor, which brings us back to her conversation with Aladdin.

I did notice that. Emma did state in the previous episode that she understands Aladdin because they are both “street rats”. Maybe spending time with him reminds her of that part of herself and her past? Heck, he was stealing a car when she found him in this episode. Something she also used to do to survive. I thought maybe it was to show the similarities between them? Just my two cents.

What a great way to start the week with happy feels all around! Great review as always. This time I dont have anything about the main story to add, except that I loved it! (and on a petty level…OMG how hot was Colin in this episode?)

Katie, my mind was also taken back to season two, where in NYC after Killian had thought that he had killed Rumple and then had been left locked up with his own thoughts (By Emma in the basement and then by Tamara as she carted him back to Storybrooke). My thought at the time was that it was here that he had had the time to ponder the emptiness of vengeance and his life pursuit, that it was here he realised it didn’t ease his pain and just left him hollow. He says as much to Regina/EQ when they are traipsing underground to retrieve the Diamond curse fail safe thingy and fight Maleficent. Now knowing that this conversation had happened prior with Nemo makes it all the more poignant and understandable to the massive turn around he had with just an episode or two later he had Rumple as is his guest on the Jolly Roger as they go to Neverland (season 2 finale).

I had actually guessed that the family member on board would be Liam 2 but the time lines in my head made him to be about 13 or 14, (but I’ve never been one to care about the time things wtih this show. It’s all fantasy, it’s not important). So I did the whole excited yelling at the screen thing knowing it was Liam 2 as soon as I saw him in the cave with Nemo and Hook. I LOVED that twist and really hope that he stays on for a bit more so that we can see some growth with that relationship. That touching scene at the end with Killian waiting for him to wake up. True Feels. And when Killian says “I’m not that pirate anymore” I just wanted to kiss him. 🙂

I also loved how most of us (me very much included despite my understanding of Killian last episode) thought there needed to be a big fight to make it all better, and yet Emma and Killian did it with a beautiful conversation and deep understanding and love of the other ones actions. Kindred spirits my friends, kindred spirits. The whole thing was not only totally believable but cathartic for me as a viewer, I think much more than a big fight would have been. What I find interesting is that at the time I thought that by Killian not voicing his disappointment, pain and hurt over Emma’s actions, was that I felt that he was letting Emma walk over him. That he was being weak, but Killian Jones is anything but weak. And now because of how they dealt with this hiccup, I think his silence is because he understands her so well because they are so similar that it would have done nothing but hurt her more.

Anyway, with regards to Belle, I am finally liking and relating to this character. Her actions are now very believable. I will be honest and say that any scene that had her in it, I never paid attention. Which was hard because I love the villian Rumple. But I could not stand her. I am finally starting to like her. I think that it would have been awesome if she had seen the EQ and Rumple kiss and where that would have led to.

Other thoughts:
– Did anyone else pick up on that the reason baby Robyn started crying was because the Charming’s re-swaddled her? Hilarious and a great throw back to the Shattered Sight spell episode where Snow and Charming were fighting over Charming’s swaddling techniques! I laughed so hard on that one!

– Boiled Mackerel? – Just yuck! But good to see Killian is as health conscious as me 🙂

– How adorable was Kilian’s excited face to be spending time with Henry and his video box thingy.

– Still not investing in Aladdin and Jasmine yet. Hope there is some good stuff coming there. AND WHERE IS JAFAR?

– Henry’s “see you at home” – more Big Feels!

– My thoughts on Emmas clothes are that as she has become a family and open to love, happiness and a home, she doesn’t need her armor any more. She is reverting back to her former attire when she let herself feel emotions and be vulnerable. She is freer and happier because she has love, support and family. I think it’s beautiful, although some of the fashion choices arent that flattering.

– Actually, something I have wanted to say for ages is that Snows attire needs some serious attention. She may be a mother and grandmother, but she is still very young. They dress her like a 70 year old.

– lastly – that dreaded kiss. EEK. Yuck. Gross. BUT… interesting. Curious as to where this goes. My thoughts are that it is just EQ trying to be manipulative and Rumple using it for his own advantage. I do not believe that there is a real attraction there.

No need to apologize for long comments. You have read how much some of the rest of us post, yes? Welcome to the long-commenters club. 🙂 I know I love to read — not just people’s reactions — but their explanations and explorations as well.

Let me also be the first to welcome you to the shallow-comments-about Colin club. (Feel free to expand the shallow comments to other cast members as well. We’re equal opportunity shallow here.) I have gotten distracted by the sexy hair, jaw clenches, smiles, eyes . . ok, I’ll stop now.

Great episode, and great review, Katie! The Hook/Henry dynamic was perfect and really emotional in “Dark Waters,” and I teared up again a couple of times as I read your words articulating why. So glad the show chose to focus on this relationship!

I didn’t watch this until today (Monday) and my spoilery peeks at social media before I watched made me worried that I was going to be super annoyed by Henry’s angst – but I thought they did a great job making it understandable, and that’s two weeks in a row that Jared Gilmore has given a really strong performance. He and Colin could not have been better together in this hour.

Everybody has made such great points, I’ll just add that, like MeMe noted, I am happy I was wrong about Killian and Emma needing a big fight to hash out their secrets. What a smart choice by the writers to have them come to this honest place more quietly, having actually been on the same page all along with their doubts about getting rid of the shears.

Anyway, so much about this hour worked – Nemo was a great character, the Liam twist, Belle was great, and I loved her opening up to Snow.

My only reservation is the Evil Queen. The two extremes of Regina – Long Suffering Heroine and Cartoon Villain Maniac – are not my favorite, and I don’t love that they are who we have this season. And did anyone else expect the EQ to be scarier at this point? Her failures to divide the Charmings and her weird (seemingly unrequited) infatuation with Rumple just make her seem kind of pathetic. I’m glad that, at the end, she decided to get back to basics

I will add my voice to the chorus of YUCK! for the EQ’s ridiculous Scarlet O’Hara accent and seduction of Rumple. I could barely watch. I kept waiting for the accent to stop but it just didn’t. I feel bad for her fans because she’s awful (EQ) /meh (Regina) this season. Like Tempest said, I hope there’s a point to her increasingly odd behavior.

Yay for people talking about things and not keeping secrets. Yay for Henry and Killian getting some time together. Yay for Liam II showing up again and breaking the cycle.

Boo for Rumple. I also thought he needed the shears for Dark One related shearing… which also problem wouldn’t be the answer to anything. But ugh. Will he ever learn?

I’m starting to call the Land of Untold Stories the Land of Unread Stories, because it’s showing me up with all the classics I have neglected to read…

The land of unread stories, ha! I got lucky with ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ since that was actually one I had read before, and I actually read ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ because of the show this summer (its short, and in the public domain so you can download it for free). But I have yet to read any Jules Verne, and I dont think I am motivated enough to pick that one up. I will say, the Wikipedia plot synopsis are pretty good if you are curious about the general idea and themes of the novels. But I might be alone in needing to look up everything I can about the source material 😉

I love that Once is showing that you don’t have to be related by blood in order to be family. We’ve already seen this with Regina and Henry, but it was nice to finally see Henry and Killian’s relationship. So much of their development, up to this point, has been off-screen and it’s been very frustrating to watch because Henry is Emma’s son (her first true love), and Killian is her romantic true love, and we didn’t get to see much of their bonding happen.

Family are the people who are there for you, but there’s something you forgot Katie: family is the people who come back for you, too. Killian’s come back for Emma many times before, and for her, no one has ever done that for her before. It means something to her.

It was nice for Henry to understand the reason why Killian kept the shears because he loves Emma too and if there is a way to save her, he’s going to try. And that Henry didn’t want to ruin their family too and he came back for him, to save him from his brother.

I’m glad Liam 2.0 wasn’t just a plot device, and we get to see him again. I’m also happy Liam realized that he couldn’t destroy another family the same way his has been destroyed too. At some point, the cycle has to stop and it can only stop when you make the decision it should stop.

Ever notice, how when Killian makes a mistake in the past, it is corrected in the present? I already know watching the episode, this stuff is going to be resolved because it’s a Killian centric and it’s always like that. This man seriously has the best character development on this show.